John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 10 blogs containing over 8000 articles with John having written over 4000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 16 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John is co-founder of InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit and LinkedIn.

Drummond Group has updated their FAQ with an interesting question about how to obtain a CMS EHR certification ID and the difference between the CMS EHR certification ID and the ONC EHR Certification ID that Drummond Group issues.

Q: How do I obtain a CMS EHR Certification ID? Is it the same as my ONC EHR Certification ID I received from Drummond Group?

A: The unique ONC EHR Certification ID issued by Drummond Group is associated with the CMS EHR Certification ID but distinct from it. The ONC EHR Certification ID is one of the “inputs” into the calculation and creation of the CMS EHR Certification ID. However, it is ultimately the CMS EHR Certification ID number which EPs and hospitals will use for the incentive payments.

The ONC Certified Health Product Listing functionality was updated December 24, 2010 and it now has the addition of a shopping cart to create CMS EHR Certification ID number. Users can obtain the CMS EHR Certification ID number by following these steps:

2. Following the instructions on the site, search for the certified EHR products. There are many ways to search, but one option is to search by the ONC EHR Certification ID assigned to the vendor.

3. When the EHR product(s) is found, select the link on its row called “Add to Cart”. There is a shopping cart icon next to it.

4. When all EHR products used by the EP or hospital have been added to the cart, select the “View Cart” link at the top right which also has a shopping cart icon next to it.

5. Now in the Certification Cart section, verify the products in the cart are correct. Then, select the “Get CMS EHR Certification ID” button in the top right corner to request a CMS EHR Certification ID. However, the button will not be activated until the items in your cart meet 100% of the required criteria. If your EHR product(s) do not meet 100% of the Meaningful Use incentives, then a CMS EHR Certification ID number can not be issued.

6. Finally, you will see the CMS EHR Certification ID. It is typically a 15 digit string made up alphanumeric characters.

Interesting that the CHPL website has been redesigned to be able to know which EHR are certified to which module and knows if you’ve reached a 100% certified set of software.

Looks like it also pays off to have a number for your EHR product name so that you’re listed first on the CHPL site.